It's an adult contemporary bonanza this week, as Elton John, Linda Ronstadt and Andrea Bocelli release new discs. Our critics also take a listen to whippersnappers like Vanessa Carlton, Jah Rule and Fabolous.

If the music biz plays its cards right, there could be plenty of other red-hot poker hands this fall. USA TODAY's music critics kibitz with some of the contenders, including Green Day, Chingy, Gwen Stefani, Ja Rule and Elton John.

Jay-Z gets an A, Britney Spears doesn't make the grade, Fuel flunks out, and Outkast moves to the head of the class. Of 26 albums USA TODAY music critics touted as potential blockbusters in September's fall preview, 22 entered Billboard in the top 10, eight at No. 1. The predictions yielded a few duds and missed a handful of heavy lifters (Toby Keith's Shock'n Y'All) and sleepers (Dido's Life for Rent). But eight of the entries topped the chart and 18 went gold (sales of 500,000-plus) by year's end.